Oysters on a Tuesday Night

Well, why not?

Sam and I did our weekly Uwajimaya grocery run. The first thing we noticed was that we were the only Caucasians in the joint. Hm. The second thing was that we were the youngest by a good 30 years. I came to find out that Tuesday morning is Senior Discount at U. Mysteries solved. I elbowed my way through the gray-hairs and up to the meat counter to get my lamb shanks. Well, I needed four and they only had three, so could I come back in five minutes? Sure. Hm. Where to entertain Sam for five minutes ... ten to be safe? Ahhhhh, the fish counter.

This may not seem so obvious to you, Dear Reader, but that's because you haven't seen U's fish counter, which is also replete with fish tanks. So we looked at the fish, the crabs, the lobsters, and the oysters. Hm. The oysters. And I'm thinking, Gee, I love oysters so much, why don't I just get some. Apparently the seniors who shop on Tuesday really like their fish because there were extra staff at the fish counter. I waited my turn and was helped by a gentleman with "Asian grandpa" written on his apron. He playfully poked Sam (this was neither the first nor the last poke from an elder at U this Tuesday), who duly shrunk back in the basket and looked askance at this person being a little too familiar. I explained that he was Asian "Papa," to which Sam responded, "Papa?" And all was right. In the 19-month-old's brain, the man had been vetted by association with the world of grandfathers. Asian Papa picked out my dozen oysters, poked and joked with Sam some more, and we left to retrieve our lamb from the meat counter.

I was ticked because two out of 12, or 16%, of the oysters were no good: one was cracked and one was empty! Now, Asian Papa probably didn't know about the empty one (how was it still tightly closed when there was nothing in it?), but the cracked one should have been obvious. Maybe Sam's cuteness distracted him. Seriously, though, should I be closely watching every move my fishmonger makes in the tank? Do I offer to pick out my own oysters?

Josh shucked eight of the 10 remaining while I put Sam to bed. No, that's right, Sam did not get to try one. I shucked the other two, for my own personal edification. It was fun! I didn't take any action shots, I realize. Next time I'll have Josh shoot video. There will be a next time, because how awesome is it to eat oysters in your own kitchen? We ate the first two unadulterated and the last few with lemon and a drop of Cholula. I plan to make more of a production next time: mignonette and champagne!